


Thanks and Misgivings

by agentsimmons



Series: Average. Ordinary. Everyday. [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Parents, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gay Bruce Banner, Gay Tony Stark, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, In-Laws, Kid Fic, M/M, POV Bruce Banner, Parent Bruce Banner, Parent Tony Stark, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Politics, Science Husbands, Team as Family, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:09:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8833408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsimmons/pseuds/agentsimmons
Summary: Tony and Bruce host Thanksgiving and they can't get through the holiday without a little family drama. But it's worth it in the end.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is quite revised from the chapter it was in You, Me & the Kids, which was riddled with so so many errors :3 Now with mention of Pepper, Jennifer and Pepper being friends, and a few other slight changes here and there to help diminish continuity issues that would have existed now that I've fleshed out some of the major backstory points alluded to in this fic.

"Clint, if I have to turn around, you're not going to get _any_ pumpkin tarts at dessert," Bruce warned his second youngest as he finished cutting up potatoes for the second batch of mashed potatoes. Rather than turn around he transferred the potato slices to an empty pan and then poured the previously boiled and drained potatoes into the mixer bowl.

"How do you always know?" Clint grumbled.

"Because it's your dad's superpower," Tony answered that question.

Bruce did turn around then to see his husband and their youngest, Jake coming into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight of Tony ruffling Clint's hair while Clint gave a scrutinizing look.

"I thought only moms had eyes in the back of their heads," Clint said. "That's what they always say in the movies."

Tony glanced at Bruce and they both snorted in unison. Tony shook his head. "Media stereotype, kiddo. That superpower is not exclusive to women. Trust me. Your dad has it." He looked at Bruce with a smirk.

Bruce rolled his eyes fondly at him and turned back around to move the bowl and knife to the sink. He heard a scraping of one of the breakfast nook's chairs across the floor and when it stopped Bruce turned his head to see Jake had moved it so he was perched next to the mixer.

"Dad said I could help!" The four-year-old beamed at him.

"Did he now?" Bruce asked with a matching grin and then came over to lean against the counter beside him. He tucked a strand of the boy's unruly blonde hair behind his ear. Clint hurried over and stood behind the chair and eyed the pan of potatoes. Bruce chuckled and grabbed a small slice and held it out. "Only one," he said. "Potatoes aren't very good for us raw," he reminded.

Clint took it greedily and munched on it just the same. "But they taste so good!"

Jake wrinkled his nose at him and then looked up at Bruce. Then he shifted his eyes up to Tony when he came to stand on the other side of the chair. "Can I start helping now?"

"I figured now's a good moment to tag in for a bit," Tony explained to Bruce, in reference to their back and forth. When they weren't cooking together, one would cook for a while as the other one kept the kids from overwhelming Grandma Rebecca too much since she'd come over the day before. "Jennifer just got here," Tony supplied, knowing Bruce would want to catch up with his cousin.

"Is Uncle Morris here yet!?" Clint immediately questioned. "I can't wait to ask him all about new cases he's working on!"

"Not quite," Tony answered. "But Jen said they'll be along in about fifteen or twenty minutes."

"Which," Bruce seized the opportunity, "is just enough time for you to go get cleaned up and changed."

Clint's shoulders sagged and he sighed. "Fine," he mumbled and then left the kitchen in a huff.

Bruce and Tony shared another glance. The familiar look of _we're doing this parenting thing right, right?_

"Alright," Bruce said as Tony moved past him to wash his hands. "I guess that's a good reason to take a break. This pan of potatoes need to get started on boiling and these potatoes are ready to be mashed. And maybe if Jake wants to help some more after that he can put the rolls on the tray for later."

"Yeah!"

Bruce smiled and Tony chuckled in his ear as he came up just behind him. "I think we can handle that," Tony said. "We're very big boys now. Learning how to tie our own shoes and everything."

"That so?" Bruce twisted and craned his neck to look at Tony with a wry smile.

"Totally," Tony replied in a teasing tone and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips.

"Okay then. Tag," Bruce smiled against his lips, "you're it." They shared another succinct kiss. And then another one. And then-

"Can I hit the button yet?" Jake interrupted and Bruce looked back to see him watching them through the fingers of one hand brought up to his face in a show of melodramatics. Other times he reacted to their kissing with giggles. And other times with groans. Of all of the kids he was still at the unpredictable age.

"Alright, it's button time," Tony replied playfully and moved towards the mixer.

Bruce lingered for just a few seconds before leaving the kitchen and moving to the family room where Jennifer had no doubt gone, rather than the formal living room. Just because they lived in a veritable mansion with plenty of spaces available for entertaining didn't mean they behaved like it most of the time. There he found Natasha already chatting with his cousin, always glad to spend time with her like she did with all of the women in her life that helped compensate for her lack of sisters and mother. Bruce's mother was there too, crocheting while Steve sat close beside her with his tablet.

Bruce crossed over to Jennifer as soon as she spotted him and opened her arms for a hug. "I still can't believe you two decided to host Thanksgiving for all of us," she said in lieu of a more formal greeting.

He chuckled as he pulled away. "Yeah. We're still a little wary of our family experiment too. I don't think everyone's been together like this since the day we brought Natasha home," he exaggerated. "It's just a shame Aunt Susan is feeling under the weather."

Jennifer nodded, but then scrunched her face. "You know, I don't recall that other time ending well," she tried to protest.

"Hush," Bruce silenced her and then placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder as she clearly pretended not to be listening while she scrolled through her Facebook feed. "I think it's been long enough not to worry too much about that."

"Bruce," Jennifer continued to protest regardless, "even Tony knows how difficult his father is."

"Fair enough," Bruce admitted with a sigh. "But let's try to remember Tony's parents are outnumbered by the amount of relatives I'll have here. Not even Pepper will be here to try and round it out a bit," he added with a chuckle towards the woman who'd not only become like a sister to Tony, but also such a fierce business woman that Howard and Maria definitely respected her. He continued, "And as brash and staunchly, er, conservative as he can be, Howard is still my father-in-law. And he usually comes around eventually. As long as there isn't any brow-beating," he warned her.

"Is that your way of saying politics are off the table?" Jennifer asked with a raised brow.

"Definitely not on the table," Bruce confirmed. "Not even under the table. Any other year I wouldn't try to censor the topic, but for the love of all things good in this world _please_ no politics this year."

"I'm not sure I'm the one you have to worry about breaching that topic," she reminded him.

Bruce sighed. "I know. But certain parties more boisterous than others have already been informed of the request. And just because I know you'll be good enough not to breach it, I also know the attorney in you has a mind of her own once it gets started," he said with a good-humored smile.

"Guilty, but don't pretend you're not passionate about a lot of things too."

"Touché," Bruce conceded. He had quite the temper on him too if he didn't watch it. "But this is a pretty special thing Tony and I are trying to do, so that's why I'm just putting it out there that we're invoking the rules of Linus."

She smiled gently at him and gave his arm a squeeze. "Understood." Then she gave a weary sigh. "Even if it means with no other distractions it leaves me an easy target of 'Jen, how's that promotion coming along?' 'Jen, why don't you date more?' 'Jen, when are you going to meet someone nice and settle down?' 'Jen, you're not getting any younger!'" She imitated her family members and Bruce chuckled. He'd gotten off easy with that respect. "And now you're telling me I won't even have Pepper for solidarity?" 

Bruce gave her an apologetic smile and shrugged. "Aunt Pepper has a fever," Natasha supplied the reason; she had a mischievous sort of calculating look in her eyes that Bruce already knew how to interpret.

"A fever?" Jennifer asked in surprise and looked at her younger cousin with a furrowed brow and then glanced at Bruce as if for confirmation. "She told me she just had a minor respiratory infection when I talked to her."

"No, like a fever of 102 and she can't keep down any food," Natasha continued. "Dad said she had to hang up and go be sick at just the mention of Thanksgiving dinner." Jennifer's mouth fell open a little and Bruce decided to leave his daughter and cousin to their bonding. As he walked away, however, he had to stifle a laugh at the sudden thought of Jennifer going straight to Pepper's condo after she left and attempting to mother-hen her friend while also berating her for not telling her how bad off she was.

Bruce went and sat down beside Steve on the couch and glanced down at his tablet to see that he was watching some videos on YouTube. Steve smiled up at him and scooted a little closer to him so they could more comfortably watch together. Bruce smiled for the fact that his oldest son hadn't yet reached the standoffish age. They laughed over the current video he had playing, a compilation of football fails, and Bruce was glad for the small moment of contentment just the two of them. With four kids and especially on a day like this, where he was admittedly a little stressed, it was a nice moment to treasure. He glanced over his son's head to see his mother watching them both with a warm smile. The moment was then interrupted by chaos, as these kinds of moments often were.

"Mr. and Mrs. Walters have arrived," JARVIS, the artificial intelligence of Tony's design, announced.

"I'll let them in!" Clint shouted from somewhere in the spacious house.

Bruce wondered a little at his lung power, or where he was at. He hoped he wasn't attempting to get into their home's over-sized vents again. He decided to get up just to see if he could find out, but on his way he was instead met with a different issue. Tony and Jake were coming from the kitchen and it was immediately obvious why. Jake's face, hair and shirt were covered with potato.

"Somebody decided to find out what the red button does," Tony explained when the three met in the middle. "Before I could stop him. Guess we still got a few things to learn," he added with a rueful chuckle.

Bruce lifted his hand to his mouth to try and hide his amusement and hold in a laugh at the comical sight. On closer inspection, Tony had some potato on him too, though only a small bit. "It's not funny," Bruce said, trying to keep himself in check. Jake was looking up at him with guiltily pursed lips and round blue eye amidst the drying potato. Bruce couldn't help it and started laughing. "I'm sorry," he apologized between snickers, although it was unnecessary as Tony and Jake were laughing too.

"Do you want to get him cleaned up or me?" Tony asked once they were calmed down again.

Bruce had a few more quiet ripples of laughter as he reached up and thumbed away a bit of potato caught in Tony's facial hair. "Well, seeing as you both need to get cleaned up, I think I'll get back to the kitchen."

Tony narrowed his eyes down his nose trying to see the bit of potato on Bruce's thumb. "Guess I was in the splash zone," he said with a shake of his head. "Alright, buddy, let's go." Tony ushered their youngest on down the hall.

Bruce turned and watched them for a second, still amused in spite of everything. He wasn't sure what state he would find the kitchen in, but sometimes it was worth it for the small moments like this.

 

* * *

 

"You probably think I'm a terrible help don't you, Bruce dear," Maria said to him with a small laugh as she pulled the lid off of the pasta salad and stirred it. "I'm afraid I never had much need to learn how to cook as wealthy as I've always been."

Bruce smiled at her and shook his head as he removed the green bean casserole from one of the ovens. "You know, obviously the gentleman in me says I should say you're a wonderful help, and I would mean it, but the horrible person in me says I should take this golden opportunity to rib Tony a little and suggest now I know where he gets it from." She threw her head back a little in a more open laugh, not unlike Tony sometimes did - and Howard too come to think of it; it seemed to be a trait one or the other had copied at some point perhaps and then Tony had copied it from them both. "Sorry," he said as he placed the casserole on the island, standing beside her as he did.

"Oh, no need for that and you know it," she said and patted his hand where it rested on the counter top. "Besides, I know Tony. He's pretty crazy about that impish streak of yours and has probably done his fair share to encourage it over the years."

Bruce snorted and gave a small nod. "That's true. I'm at least seventy-two percent more inclined to be an imp now than when I first met him."

Maria smiled and turned sideways to face him. He followed suit. "Then don't let a little joke at my expense worry you. I'm just happy that you both still make each other happy." She patted him on his cheek this time and he returned her smile, and didn't pry as to any hidden meaning under that regarding her own happiness with Howard. Then with a wink she said, "And don't think Tony got all of that impudence from Howard. Did I ever tell you about the time I slipped past my body guards and snuck into a casino just to see how much money I could lose for the fun of it?"

Bruce looked at her with wide-eyed amusement. "No, but Tony _has_ mentioned a couple of times you pulled a diva act when he was a kid to get you both out of very important SI gatherings," he said in a conspiratorial tone. "I'd say it was definitely one of the examples that stuck with him," he teased.

Maria laughed and shook her head. "Oh, poor Bruce. I know Howard and I have left you with quite the handful to deal with over the years."

Bruce chuckled too. "Well, I wouldn't have him any other way," he said in earnest. "Not even when he's five seconds away from sleeping in the guest room," he added and shook his head with a wide grin. "I knew what I was getting into when I fell in love with him. Maybe I've always been pretty crazy for that impossible streak in him." And that was true. Once upon a time Tony had strutted into his life and when Bruce had tried to tip-toe around the near-instant draw he felt to the crazy, wonderful, outlandish, passionate, willful man he'd ended up tripping over his toes and falling head over heels. "And I wouldn't say I'm exactly Prince Charming here," he jabbed at himself.

Maria opened her mouth to respond when suddenly Tony marched into the kitchen with a look on his face that screamed one thing and one thing only. Bruce shared a knowing look with his mother-in-law.

"This is going to be a long night," Tony grumbled. "I think I already need a drink." Then he looked between them and must have noticed their closeness and asked, "What were you two talking about?"

"You of course," Maria answered with a twinkle in her eyes and then very purposely moved to a different part of the kitchen to let Bruce handle it.

"Okay," Tony said uncertainly, but then shook his head as if to dismiss it for now. He then moved into the space where she'd been, leaning his hip against the island and crossing his arms indignantly before starting up on his grumbling again. "I swear, honey, without you to keep me sane that man would have driven me to be an alcoholic ages ago."

Bruce tried not to sound too incredulous with his reply of, "Tony, you haven't even been with him for an hour."

"Babe, sometimes all it takes is five minutes. Why do you think I couldn't work for him anymore?"

"Because you had a different vision," Bruce answered plainly, trying to remind him not to exaggerate his frustration.

Tony deflated and let his arms fall. "Okay, that's technically true, but not working for him was a very good incentive. And may I remind you I could only barely tolerate working for him so long as there was 3,000 miles between us?"

"Alright, what's he doing?" Bruce indulged. He then moved to finish the meal prep and Tony followed.

"Well, he's playing favorites with Steve again for one."

Bruce frowned slightly at that answer, his own paternal instincts chafing like Tony's at the injustice, as he opened another oven to take out the turkey. Before he could Tony jumped into do it instead. Bruce knew it was Tony's subtle way of being a tad chivalrous, which was sweet, and he figured it was a decent distraction so he waited until Tony had set it down on the stove top before he replied to Tony's complaint about his father.

"Tony," he said very slowly as they began inspecting the turkey in tandem, "I know he seems to pay attention to Steve disproportionately, but we've talked about this." He shook his head and pushed aside the instincts he had to give Howard a piece of his mind about it like Tony wanted them to do, proof of that temper of his. "Don't make a big deal about it in front of the kids. It's not Steve's fault."

"I know, I know," Tony said in defense and pulled away from the stove. "And I didn't," he assured him before continuing with a sigh. "But, _Bruce_ , it just... It frustrates me to no end. It's not fair to the others and it's not fair to Steve. And I'm fairly certain at this point he wishes Steve had been his son instead of me." Bruce lifted his eyebrows and turned to look at him. "Hell, _sometimes_ I think a stubborn part of him would still be a little backwards about you and me if it wasn't for the fact he wouldn't have Steve as a grandson otherwise!"

"Hey, hey, Tony." Bruce quickly bridged the space between them and placed one hand on the back of Tony's neck and ran the other up and down his arm in a soothing fashion. Tony was starting to get worked up about this more than was good for anyone, but especially himself. "I know you're upset about this and you know I love you for it." That seemed to make Tony focus on him again. Bruce gave him a small smile. "You love our kids and want what's best for all of them. Tony, you're an amazing father for that. But, I'm positive Howard loves all of them even if Steve's personality is one he connects with. He's human and we can't do anything other than try and not make this harder. It's not fair, but at the end of the day the thing that matters most is that _we're_ making sure our kids know we love them each the same and are invested in all of them individually. At the end of the day, what _we_ are doing or not doing is going to have more bearing. There's no reason for you to get so upset about this that you lose sight of that, okay? We'll figure it out," he promised.

Tony nodded and then leaned in and captured his lips. Bruce readily kissed his husband for a long moment. "You're right," Tony said with another nod and a sigh when they pulled apart. "It's hard, but I'll try to let that one go. At least today. But," he shook his head, "it's still going to be a long night. There are other things."

"I know," Bruce empathized before leaning in and whispering in Tony's ear, "but I guess that just means you'll have more than earned a massage." He could feel Tony's body thrill at the prospect, as well as he knew it by now.

Tony smiled eagerly and whispered in response, "I'd say we'll both have earned a little t.l.c. by the end of the night." Then louder he said, "Fine. I'll go back out there and try harder to just smile and nod." Then with a laugh he said, "Or maybe I'll just set up a kid's table and eat with them."

Bruce snorted at the idea, which Tony probably wouldn't have any actual qualm in following through with, as he watched him put on a brave face and leave the kitchen again. Then he sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. He was reminded of Maria's presence when she came up beside him again and laced an arm with his.

"Not that I'm sure it would do any good, but would you like me to say something to the old ass about it?"

Bruce considered the offer for a moment before looking down at her with a grateful smile. "No, but if it becomes too much of a problem, then I promise we'll tell you and you can help us then."

She nodded in understanding and then leaned in and gave him a motherly kiss to the cheek. "Mr. and Mr. Charming," she stated and Bruce couldn't help but duck his head and then look at her with a sheepish smile. Howard Stark might be a difficult father-in-law sometimes, but Maria Stark was an amazing mother-in-law.

 

* * *

 

Bruce took a bite of mashed potatoes as he listened to the buzz of conversation from his kids going on seemingly all at once around the table.

"And then he was all, 'I don't believe you're actually a brown belt,'" Natasha was recounting a story to Jennifer and Elaine. "And of course brown belt rank dictates you have to start learning control," Bruce thought she sounded like there was an eye-roll accompanied with that statement, "so instead of round-housing _him_ like I really wanted to, I just freaked him out by holding as good a pointe as you can in tennis shoes. Then I did a triple pirouette that I transferred into a roundhouse air kick instead of simple stage jump."

"Whoa," her cousin and aunt applauded, "well done. I bet you've been practicing that."

"I have!"

Bruce winced a little at Natasha's violent streak, but it was just one of the things that made her unique. He glanced to his right to see Tony clearly having heard the exchange and smiling proudly rather than with any concern.

"Yeah, we went to this flight museum and there was this flight simulator," Steve was telling his grandmothers his own story around snickers, "and I totally crashed the plane like three times. It was so embarrassing. Sam laughed and said I better never become a pilot."

"Well, did _he_ do better?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh yeah, he did really good!" Steve praised his friend. "Like, so good he could totally become a pilot."

"Really now?" Maria replied. "Well, maybe we can hire him to fly our private jet in ten years," she said with a laugh.

"Or maybe Steve here will have his own private jet by then he can fly instead," Rebecca suggested.

Bruce glanced between the conspiring grandmothers and then at Steve to see he seemed both confused and sheepish about that idea. "He wants to go into the military," he said with a crinkled nose.

Bruce chuckled around a bite of yams before his attention was caught by Clint's conversation with Morris that had taken a slightly age-inappropriate turn. Bruce glanced down at Jake beside him to see his eyes round as saucers and dinner roll halfway to his agape mouth. Bruce glared at his uncle and shook his head.

"How about we discuss something else now," he said in an even tone.

"Right," Morris nodded with a self-conscious cough at his mistake, "uh, so, Clint have you and your brothers and sister started making your Christmas lists for Santa yet?"

All four kids promptly turned their attention to him and in near-unison shouted, "A dog!"

"Uh-oh." Morris chuckled. "Maybe that's not a safe topic either."

"As you can see they've come to the conclusion their best bet is to stand in solidarity," Tony replied with a snort.

"I still remember when you begged for a dog," Maria said to her son with a smile.

Tony didn't match it, rather frowned at his father. Bruce discreetly moved the hand sitting in his lap to squeeze his husband's knee. With the kids suddenly determined to ask for a dog until they got their way, Tony had shared with him how his father had been against pets of any kind so eventually he'd stopped asking.

"But are you in solidarity about what kind of dog?" Morris pressed on with the discussion.

"A Borzoi," Natasha said.

"No! A golden retriever!" Steve argued. "They're classic!"

"I want a Beethoven," Jake declared excitedly.

"A Saint Bernard," Bruce reminded him gently.

"Yeah! A Saint Bernard!"

"Oh dear," Elaine said with a small laugh.

"Well, he gets that from his dad," Bruce said with a look at Tony, who very seriously wanted a massive dog if they ever decided to cave which was becoming more and more likely.

"I think we should just adopt a mutt from the bad place and give him a good home," Clint said with a shrug, and Bruce smiled at his altruistic streak.

"The bad place?" Morris lifted an eyebrow.

"That's what they call the pound in _Homeward Bound_ ," Jennifer supplied to her father.

The kids started having a lively debate about their thoughts about dogs, while most of their older relatives listened and prompted and interjected. Bruce merely listened with a smile. When the conversation turned toward the dog show earlier in the day, Bruce glanced at Tony to see if he was chomping at the bit just as much as he was to share their secret. Instead he found him engaged in a tense, if not loud, conversation with his father. Bruce tuned into what was going on out of concern.

"Oh, yes, of course I know that," Howard was saying with a displeased tone. "I saw the saccharine little video you posted on SBI's website and media pages wishing the protesters thanks for their ongoing efforts. Too bad it completely misses the point of what's really going on here-"

"What's really going on here?" Tony scoffed. "The only thing going on here is we refuse to celebrate a holiday about imagined peace and prosperity while ignoring the rights of those same people who we're supposed to have been grateful to on this day in the first place. Not to mention I'd say safe resources is still something to be damn thankful for."

Bruce bit his tongue when he realized what they were discussing. Jennifer was right that he was passionate about some things and this was definitely one of those things. He didn't need to make the conversation more heated than it already seemed to be.

" _We_?" Howard countered. "Are you sure that's the case? Because the son I raised would approach this situation from a neutral, professionally responsible angle. Tell me, Tony, how do you think you'll ever manage to usher in your idealized clean energy reform when this country can't even sustain itself with the number one energy source we've had for centuries? You're not thinking like an industrialist about this because you're too concerned about some politically correct human fluff piece element."

"Excuse me, but what exactly are you implying?" Tony asked with a threatening undertone to his voice.

"I'm not implying anything," Howard responded, unfazed. "I'm saying I think this is more in-line with Bruce's ideologies and you are acting like every husband has before you in that you're willing to sacrifice your own convictions to keep your spouse happy. Just as I'm sure he's done plenty for you," Howard added, but Bruce had to admit it felt a little like an afterthought. "I think you both need to discuss this again and," Howard looked at him then, "I'd urge you, Bruce, to try and look at this from the point of view of a seasoned business man and not keep him from doing the smart thing."

Bruce's own temper flared at the condescending challenge and he opened his mouth to retort when Tony shot up to his feet in a more showy protest, throwing his fork down only for it to bounce off the table and onto the floor. Everyone at the table went quiet and watched the standoff with interest. Beside him Jake scooted to the edge of his chair and was nearly in Bruce's lap as he watched his father practically fume from the nostrils at his grandfather.

"Okay, one, I don't know if you're actually blind or just willfully ignorant, but these _are_ my convictions. They have been for a long time. Or have you been unfamiliar with SBI's mission statement all these years? Which, you know, fyi, I came up with on my own. The only thing Bruce has to do with this is that we have the same vision and so we support each other. Hell, dad, it's one of the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place. Him and me, we're the same on this. Two, if you're going to sit there and insult him like that in front of our children and our other guests, you can leave this house right now." Howard's eyebrows shot up and his face turned red. "I mean that. I don't care what your intent was or if you still care about your son-in-law, I won't stand for behavior to the contrary."

"Tony." Bruce had been momentarily overwhelmed with emotion, but finally intervened. He reached out a hand and touched Tony's back. Tony glanced down, his dark eyes blinking and focusing on him as though he'd been in a daze. "It's fine, okay? Let's not get carried aw-"

"It's not fine," Tony countered and looked back at his flustered father.

"Tony, please?" He tried again and Tony met his gaze once more. He tweaked his jaw and studied him before his face softened. He just gave a small nod, but rather than sit back down he left the table, making an excuse about getting a new fork from the kitchen. Bruce breathed a sigh of relief and then looked down at Jake's uncertain gaze. He smoothed his blonde hair and then glanced around at his other three children to check on their reactions. He couldn't bring himself to look at any of his other family. The only other person he forced himself to look at was Howard as he said, "I believe you're entitled to your opinions, Howard. And I wouldn't begin to tell you how to run Stark Industries since it's your company. Whether or not you think it's the smart thing, I do view our stance on this as one of being professionally responsible and business savvy. The matter of honoring contracts and upholding the law aside, businesses backing this stand a lot to lose if, and past experience implies a very big probability of _when_ , we end up with something astronomically more threatening than the Roxxon spill off Miami. As for politically correct human fluff piece, well, I won't apologize for worrying about the safety of others the way I do for myself and my own family just because it might not affect me personally." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't want you to leave, but I do expect the agreement we all had on no politics, not even business politics, to be honored. Did Tony start this or did you?"

Howard opened his mouth, still looking a little hot around the collar, like he wanted to protest being spoken back to by him too, but Maria checked it with a stern, "Howard?"

He sighed as if he was the one put upon and said, "All I did was mention investors expect a different stance from a billion dollar company."

Bruce was up to his feet half way through Howard's sentence and excusing himself to go check on Tony, ignoring the man's protests to his wife that he'd only been trying to help which followed immediately after. He walked briskly to the kitchen and found Tony hunched over the sink, both hands gripping the edges, and his eyes closed. As he moved toward him, Tony opened his eyes and straightened up when he noticed him.

"Bruce, look, I-" Bruce cut off his unnecessary apology by pressing into Tony's space and capturing his lips in an emphatic kiss. "Not the reaction I was expecting," he said, a little dazed, when they broke apart.

"Well, it should have been," Bruce replied. "After a speech like that why wouldn't it be?"

"Because I broke my promise and ruined everything. I should have just left it alone when he brought it up."

"Maybe," Bruce agreed, "but I understand why you didn't. Besides, that's not why I'm kissing you," he pointed out and then accentuated the point by kissing him again.

Tony clearly understood because this time he kissed him back in a way that suggested to him he was backing up his own earlier points to Howard about Bruce. "He doesn't get to fucking belittle my amazing husband," Tony practically growled, voice dripping with a tone that screamed _protect_ , into one of their kisses.

Bruce moaned a little at the force of it before pushing back with all of his own feelings of indignation against Howard on Tony's behalf. "He doesn't get to belittle my amazing husband either."

Their kisses quickly turned into an impromptu make-out session that the rational part of Bruce's brain told him was already far too sexually-charged and likely to lead to something inappropriate for the situation. It was halted, however, before that could become the case by giggles, muttered 'ums' and 'ews', and a 'maybe we should leave.' They broke apart again to see their kids standing there looking various shades of scandalized - except Jake who this time looked far too instinctively curious about what his dads were up to.

Bruce cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure and a more normal level of breathing, before asking, "Is everything okay?"

"That's why we came," Natasha replied.

"Yeah, we wanted to make sure you guys weren't too sad about fighting with gramps," Clint said as the four of them walked over. Bruce shared a surprised smile with Tony.

"Grandpa loves us, doesn't he?" Jake asked, looking up at them as he hugged Tony's leg.

Tony sighed and placed a hand on the crown of Jake's head. "Yeah, he does," he said. "Just because people argue and say things they shouldn't doesn't mean they don't care at all. It just means they're not always great at showing it. What your grandfather said was hurtful and not okay which is why I told him so. But that doesn't necessarily mean we all have to stop caring about him or think he doesn't care at all about us. Make sense?"

Whether he understood entirely or not Jake nodded and so did the other three.

"He definitely cares about the four of you," Bruce reiterated. "So don't you worry about that."

"Well," Steve said and hugged Bruce around the waist, "I didn't really understand everything that was being said, but any of the mean things was definitely not true." Clint and Natasha joined them and it turned into a group hug that warmed Bruce's heart.

"Yeah, they may be lame sometimes, but our dads are the best guys in the world," Natasha agreed as they hugged.

After a minute, Clint pulled back and looked up at them. "Are we still having dessert or are you guys too mad now?"

Tony and Bruce laughed in sync. "Of course we're still having dessert," Tony said with a playful punch to the boy's shoulder. He then looked at Bruce and then back at the kids. "After all we still have a very big secret to share with everyone, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" They all said in unison and then rushed out of the kitchen.

"Are you sure we should after all that?" Bruce asked.

"Maybe not as soon as we get back in there," Tony reasoned. "But I haven't been putting up with my dad all night for no reason."

Bruce smiled and leaned in to share one more kiss with Tony before they returned to the formal dining room.

 

* * *

 

About an hour after the argument, the dinner had been cleared away and desserts placed out on the table instead. Apologies had been offered and the tension mostly settled. Sure, there were still hurt feelings and underlying disagreements that would probably always be there, but Bruce was grateful those things were being ignored for the time being. With the calmer atmosphere as a backdrop, and sugar and hot drinks as a good accompaniment, Bruce turned his head toward Tony and with just one look they were in obvious agreement. Tony reached for his hand, entwining their fingers, and they stood to their feet so that everyone focused their attention on them.

"Alright, so you're probably all wondering why we went through the trouble of inviting everyone over here for a glorified turkey dinner in the first place," Tony started.

"Well, you know, other than the fact that we care about our family and enjoy spending time with all of you," Bruce added in jest and there were some chuckles in response.

"Right, of course. There's that." Tony nodded and there were more laughs. "But the truth is," he became serious again, "we invited you all here because we wanted this to be a celebration of family. Even when we don't all get along, I don't think there's anything in this world that I'm more thankful for than family. I'm thankful for my parents. I'm thankful for my father's hard work and for teaching me the value of conviction and being a stubborn ass that goes after the things he wants and doesn't take no for an answer... even when he's the one telling me no." Tony nodded toward his father, who Bruce noted looked genuinely surprised and pleased by the concession. "I know I wouldn't have even half the privilege that I do right now without him or without my mother. I'm thankful for her guidance and her unwavering support even when it means she has to play referee for both of the stubborn asses in her life."

"I'm thankful to my mother," Bruce said. "For being the strongest, bravest woman I know. For beating the odds and fighting for us to have a better life. I'm thankful to my Uncle Morris and Aunt Elaine, and to my Aunt Susan who couldn't be here, for their support of my mom and me when we needed it most. For helping us in having that better life. And I'm thankful for my cousin Jennifer for being the best friend I needed when sometimes it felt like there wasn't anyone else. I'm thankful that her friendship and support hasn't waned in all these years. And Tony and I would also be remiss in mentioning our gratitude to Pepper even though she couldn't be here tonight either, or any of the other friends that have stuck with us and supported us through the years."

They both paused and let that sink in. It was clear that the family wasn't sure quite what to make of their spectacle, but were obviously making unspoken guesses.

"Finally," Tony started again, "I couldn't celebrate Thanksgiving without saying, above everything, I'm grateful that this wonderful man here is still beside me. That he's still my partner in everything. I'll forever be grateful to the universe that our paths crossed."

"And I'm grateful that of all the men Tony could have had his choice of, he chose me," Bruce said with a watery smile. "I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father for our children."

"And that goes doubly for me," Tony said, looking back at their guests. "Which is why we wanted to share the news with everyone that soon we'll have a little more reason to be thankful. Bruce and I have decided to make our family bigger."

The announcement was, as to be expected, met with gasps and smiles and tears and shock.

Bruce nodded in confirmation. "Tony and I have considered a fifth child for some time and after discussing it with the kids we've decided as a family that we're ready. As of Monday we've started the adoption process." Bruce's mother was up and over to give them both a hug as soon as he finished. Maria was close behind.

Tony and Bruce still held hands as they sat back down. The rest of the evening was spent in a genuinely pleasant mood, conversation turning to encouragement, joking disbelief, and questioning of the kids on why they wanted another sibling. Bruce hadn't been sure how their family members would take it as a whole, anymore than he and Tony had known how the kids would respond to the idea initially, but as they were met with overwhelming support, even if some of it was a little more understated than others, Bruce knew they had so very much to be thankful for.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Justice for the Maria Stark who was headstrong and romantic and shouted at Howard in defense of Tony and loved adopted!Tony like her own son and was close to him and was a philanthropist and so on. It's easy to see the aspects of Howard in Tony, especially in the MCU, but if you really dig into what we have of Maria I think there's clear evidence that some of Tony's most redeeming aspects are more inspired by her (in my opinion - essentially just like Bruce with Rebecca vs. the negative qualities Brian inspired, which is one of the reasons why I love these two characters together so much).  
> 2\. Tony doesn't have time for your patriarchal shit anymore, Howard. Neither does Bruce.  
> 3\. Obviously the political climate in this au mirrors our own (like it sometimes does in the films) so they're basically arguing over a Dakota Access Pipeline type situation, only I imagine in their world Roxxon would be the major entity behind it. And who knows what presidential parallel there might be possible in-verse, but whoever it is the implication is clearly that it was similarly contentious and not everyone voted the same.  
> 4\. Use of the word 'vision' here and there was a very low-key intentional word choice as a shout out to the Vision-as-their-son jokes/headcanons.  
> 


End file.
